Source: The British Museum website
Ostracon, ca. 1295–?1069 B.C.E.; Dynasties 19–20; New Kingdom Egyptian; Thebes
Painted limestone; 5 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (14 x 12.5 cm)
Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926
Source: The Metropolitain Museum of Art
Lions
Sekhmet, depicted as a lioness, was goddess of love and protection, but also of vengence. In one version of the Eye of Re myth, it was Sekhmet who wreaked havoc among mankind.
At times lions were kept as pets by the pharaohs. Wild lions were chased with chariots specially built for hunting, drawn by two horses.
Lions might represent the king or alternatively his royal enemy. The hieratic text of this Ramesside depiction (bottom picture) reads:
The slaughter of every foreign land. The Pharaoh, may he live, prosper, and be healthy.
